Mass Effect: N7 closed files
by The Burly-Lizard
Summary: When sent on a mission they were never supposed too be apart of, an N7 fireteam finds themselves being hunted by their own after uncovering information none of them were supposed too see. Loyalty crumbles, and the team is left with attempting to combat their hunters when they realize there is no one they can turn too...


October 17, 2278

Lt. Com. J. Kingman

Citadel

Presidium level 4

The massive door leading from the council chambers to the general public opened with a great, yet simple, swoop. The light of the artificial sun that illuminated the Citadel flooded over the face of Lt. Commander Jacob Kingman. He was faded with stress, and it reflected on his face. He looked down at the steps in front of him. In all of his years, he had never been the silent type, but for the first time, there were no words to say.

"I can't believe it's all finally over Jake…" stated Howard Cartman, who appeared only as a fat, ungrateful, poor excuse for a human in the eyes of Kingman.

Jacob was silent. The past four months had been hell for him, and what was left of his team. He closed his eyes and sighed, and within the same motion took the first of many steps down the long stair case outside of the Council tower. The taping sound of shoes on the metallic floor of the council area had always been soothing to him, and things felt easy now that this long conflict was coming to a close. However, images of death, and suffering still flooded his mind. He felt the inside of his jacket pocket, the dogtags were still there...

"Common Jake, say something… anything! This is great, it's finally all come to a conclusion." Cartman released "I mean… from what you told me, it must have been hel-"

Jacob stopped.

"How about you finally shut the hell up Cartman? What you've failed to understand, is that you're my representative, not my friend. Now I no longer need you, so for the last damn time, Quit calling me Jake!" Kingman's reply was loud. It was the shout of a military man, a voice for taking command.

Cartman looked down at the ground, as if in shame. Jacob was relived that the fat representative had finally shut his mouth. In his stop, Jacob noticed the common pedestrians that walked throughout the crowded walkways of the district just down the steps in front of him. It was possessing to see people living so innocently. The lone thought of all of the controlled chaos this stationed contained made Kingman's head spin.

Kingman took another deep breath, and thought about the words he spoke to Cartman. After all, they had just spent the past two weeks together, most of which Cartman spent away from his family to represent Kingman's case. A civil person would offer an apology, something the Jacob was not good at presenting. Regardless, he felt the need to at minimum thank the man.

Kingman turned in Howards direction, and said his name. That prompted Howard to turn around. Jacob took a pause, running through a script in his head. He took a breath, and upon exhale, there was a thud. Kingman couldn't decide if the noise came from within himself, or from his surroundings. In truth, it was a noise that he was all too familiar with. His mind only had a moment to operate before his eyes watched Howard fall down on the steps they stood on. He saw blood. "A gun shot..." he said in his mind.

Instinctively, Kingman leaped forward over the fallen body, and began running to the left side of the staircase. He dove, and caught himself in a roll, allowing him to sweep his feet under himself, and maneuver behind the nearest solid object. A pedestrian walking had caught side of blood on the ground, and noticing Cartman's fallen body, began to scream, causing mass panic. Kingman poked around the pillar that he hid behind, and tried to identify what he believed was a shooter. "What the hell…" he thought to himself, "That came out of know where, and it was precise. The killer had struck his target with no collateral damage. The mark of a professional…" Unable to identify any shooter, Kingman Began to focus more on his immediate surroundings.

He noticed the Presidium security force moving to contain the scene. Kingman began to move out of his cover, but he could not… it was not that he was afraid by any means, rather that he was physically unable to move. Then the recognizable pain struck him. He looked down, and then it sunk in that the assassin was not after Cartman… the shooters target was Jacob Kingman. The shooter had not missed… the round had simply gone through Kingman and took the kill shot on Howard.

There was a hole in Kingman's abdomen, and it was bleeding fiercely. The tips of his fingers became cold. He could now taste metal... he knew he would die in about six minutes without medical attention. He began to look around at the PSF officers that was on the scene. He needed a doctor. Kingman had tried to call out for help, but before he could his eye caught the face of a man he knew. In that instant, his voice was stolen from him. Stolen by fear… As Kingman turned his head to call out to a Medic, he saw what he knew could only be the shooter, and he was walking quickly in Jacob's direction.

The man moving for him was a ghost, someone who was dead, someone who could not be truly there… yet was…This was only man that would ever be crazy enough to assassinate a high ranking Alliance officer in the middle of the day. Blood loss caused Jacob to begin to lose consciousness. Colors blended together, the dark got darker around him. The killer was now in front of a barely alive Kingman, and he kneeled down. The man looked Kingman dead in the eye. Looking back, Jacob knew his soul was cold… as if someone had taken it and twisted it off into several thousands of pieces.

The killer said something, something kingman couldn't understand in his daze. He stuck his hand into Jacob's pocket, and took the tags. He stood, and reached into his own jacket. Then there was the "Pfftht" of a silenced weapon being discharged into Kingman's head. The shooter re-holstered his weapon, and began walking away. The man's face was more emotionless than it had ever been. In that moment, the world froze, time seemed to stop for him.

The killer mumbled to himself "No Cartman… now it's over"


End file.
